CIMOM abstraction layer

Abstract

An improved system and method is disclosed for transparent and agent-less remote access to CIMOMs and the management information they provide, regardless of the CIMOM communication protocol implemented. Differences between disparate CIM object manager (CIMOM) implementations are abstracted to provide clients a common interface when accessing information management data. A protocol layer is implemented that comprises protocol adapters that are dynamically loaded to handle communications with WBEM implementation. Target CIMOM protocols are discovered on-line by the protocol layer, which provides the appropriate interface to transparently convey management information from the CIMOM to the abstraction layer.

1 . A system for communicating information between a plurality of information handling systems, comprising:
 a plurality of common-information-model object managers (CIMOMS) operable to define relationships between classes and subclasses of managed elements, said plurality of CIMOMs operable to communicate using a plurality of protocols; and   an application program interface (API) providing an extensible protocol framework operable to provide a common interface for transferring information between said plurality of CIMOMs.   
   
   
       2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said API is implemented in an abstraction layer. 
   
   
       3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein said API is operable to implement a protocol layer comprising a protocol library. 
   
   
       4 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein said protocol layer further comprises a plurality of static protocol adapters. 
   
   
       5 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein said protocol layer further comprises a plurality of dynamic protocol adapters that are dynamically loaded by a protocol loader. 
   
   
       6 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein said protocol layer is operable to discover target CIMOM protocols. 
   
   
       7 . The system of  claim 6 , wherein said protocol layer is further operable to associate a predetermined protocol adapter with a CIMOM protocol discovered by said protocol layer. 
   
   
       8 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein said protocol adapter comprises a Web-Based Enterprise Management (WBEM) protocol. 
   
   
       9 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein said protocol adapter comprises a Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) protocol. 
   
   
       10 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein said protocol adapter comprises a Web Services Management (WS-Man) protocol. 
   
   
       11 . A method for communicating information between a plurality of information handling systems, comprising:
 using a plurality of common-information-model object managers (CIMOMs) to define relationships between classes and subclasses of managed elements, said plurality of CIMOMs operable to communicate using a plurality of protocols; and   using an application program interface (API) to provide a common interface for transferring information between said plurality of CIMOMs, said API comprising an extensible protocol framework.   
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising implementing said API in an abstraction layer. 
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein said API is operable to implement a protocol layer comprising a protocol library. 
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein said protocol layer further comprises a plurality of static protocol adapters. 
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein said protocol layer further comprises a plurality of dynamic protocol adapters that are dynamically loaded by a protocol loader. 
   
   
       16 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising using said protocol layer to discover target CIMOM protocols. 
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising using said protocol layer to associate a predetermined protocol adapter with a CIMOM protocol discovered by said protocol layer. 
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein said protocol adapter comprises a Web-Based Enterprise Management (WBEM) protocol. 
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein said protocol adapter comprises a Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) protocol. 
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein said protocol adapter comprises a Web Services Management (WS-Man) protocol.